


Ready to Wear

by blakefancier



Series: Young Lovers [55]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 21:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5885965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony go shopping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready to Wear

"Oh my god," Tony said, slowly circling Steve, eyes raking over him in awe. "Take off your shirt."

"What? No!" Steve crossed his arms over his chest. He jerked his shoulders up when Tony ran a hand down his spine.

"C'mon, take it off. Please? Pretty please?" Tony grabbed the hem of his shirt and tugged it.

Steve held off for a second longer, then let out a huff, pulled his shirt over his head, and tossed it onto the floor. "You know, this is why people think you're gay."

"Whatever, sweet cheeks. I'm just appreciating the marvels of modern medicine." Tony stood before him and shook his head. "Jesus, you're amazing. How tall are you now?"

"Six foot two." And boy was he getting tired of telling people that.

"Look at those shoulders. Dad must be creaming his pants." Tony froze, wrinkled his nose, and let out an 'ew' when he realized exactly what he said.

"Can we please go now?" He swooped down, grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. "I thought you wanted to buy new clothes."

"I do, I do. " Tony patted Steve's stomach, grinning. "I just needed a moment to take you all in. God, Erskine was a genius." 

"He saved my life," Steve said softly. That's what really mattered, not the fact that he was taller and broader and even stronger than before. 

Steve's words seemed to sober Tony up, because he replied, just as softly, "Yeah, yeah, he did." Then he took a deep breath and smiled. "C'mon gorgeous. You and I have a date with my dad's black AMEX." 

"I hope he gave that to you," Steve said with an exasperated sigh. 

Tony didn't respond, just took Steve's too small jacket off the coat rack and handed it to him. 

Steve rolled his eyes and put it on, following Tony out the door. Tony chatted amicably and he let it wash over him, answering absentmindedly. He didn’t think too much about where they were going—he knew all of Tony's favorite shops—until he noticed they were headed in the wrong direction. "Tony? Manhattan's that way."

"Oh, um, I thought we'd go shopping someplace new." 

"Okay." Steve gave Tony a puzzled look, wondering why Tony hadn't mentioned it before. 

"You'll like it," Tony said with a smile on his face. 

Steve probably should have questioned Tony more, that was his first thought when they pulled into a Walmart parking lot. "What? Tony... what?"

"I hear you can get *everything* here." Tony sounded so damn enthusiastic, exiting the car, practically buzzing with excitement. 

"It's a Walmart," he said dumbly, rushing to follow Tony. "This isn't exactly your style. What are we doing here? Did you meet a girl?"

"No." Tony grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him towards the entrance. "It's so big. Seriously, I didn't expect it to be this big." Tony didn't let him go until they were inside the store. It took fifteen minutes before Tony finished testing out shopping carts and they had one that was acceptable. "Ooh, grab some Doritos and a couple of sodas. Shopping always makes me hungry."

Steve rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Tony."

"What? I'm going to pay for what we eat. Chop, chop!" 

He had a bad feeling about this. A really, really bad feeling, but he grabbed the Doritos and a couple of sodas and followed Tony towards the men's section. 

"My god, you could live here. Steve, if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, we should head straight here. It could be our own little kingdom. Well, my kingdom, but you could be my knight or something. Ooh, sock!" They stopped abruptly while Tony grabbed a few packs of socks, checked the sizes, then tossed them into the basket.

"Tony, you don't wear athletic socks."

"I might," Tony said defensively. "I might decide that I like athletic socks better than regular socks."

"What is going on? No, you know what—" Steve grabbed Tony by the wrist and was now the one tugging him along towards the changing rooms. On the way, he grabbed a couple of t-shirts. "Hi," he said to the young man manning the changing rooms. "We need to try these on." 

The guy gave them both a wary look, but handed him a plastic number.

"Thanks." Steve didn't say anything else until they were in a stall, door locked behind them. "What is going on, Tony?"

Tony's gaze darted from one side of the little area to the other. "Steve, Steve, c'mon. I know I'm super sexy, but you're dating my dad." 

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

"Steve…" Tony sighed and visibly deflated. "Don't be mad. And don't get offended, okay." 

"Why would I—" Then it hit him. Tony would never shop at a discount store, but Steve would. He face went hot with humiliation and he turned to leave; he would have too, but Tony grabbed his arm with both hands.

"You don't have enough clothes to wear and what you do have barely fits." Tony's fingers tightened around his arm. 

Steve's eyes stung and he blinked back tears. "I don't need your charity." 

"This isn't charity. Will you just stop and listen to me. Please," Tony begged and only let go when Steve nodded. "If my family suddenly lost everything, every penny, every piece of property, everything we ever owned, I know that I'd never have to worry about starving or where I was going to stay. Because, Steve, I know you'd let me stay with you, you'd give me the last bite of food on your plate, you'd give me the shirt off your back. 

Well, my shirt won't fit you, but I can buy you a shirt. You let me spend Thanksgivings with you and your mom, you listened to me gripe about my parents, and you always made sure that I knew that you gave a damn about me, even when it felt like nobody else did." 

"It's humiliating," Steve said softly.

"You're family." Tony took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "That's what you said when I called you on my first night at that damn private school. Remember?"

Steve did; Tony had spent the whole night on the phone with him, crying softly because he was so far from home. "This isn't why I'm your friend; I don't care about your money."

"I know." Tony nudged him. "Let me do this for you." 

He wanted to say no, but he also wanted a jacket that fit. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Ok. Fine." 

"Cool, now let's get out of here. I'm pretty sure that guy out front thought we were coming in here for a quickie." 

"Gross." Steve laughed and gently shoved him. 

***** 

After hours of trying on clothes and shoes, they headed to the McDonald's for some lunch. Tony was delighted by the fact that they didn't need to leave the store. 

"Do you think they have tuxedoes here?" Tony asked thoughtfully. 

"Maybe, why?" Steve wasn't sure why Tony would want a suit from Walmart.

"No, you know what, never mind. We'll rent you a tux or I'll send you to my guy." Tony took a bite of his hamburger, moaning softly. "So good." 

"I don't need a tux."

"If John Hughes has taught me anything, it's that they're a requirement for prom." Tony used a napkin to wipe secret sauce from the corner of his mouth. "Oh, yeah, will you go to prom with me? And before you throw a hissy fit, I'm asking because I didn't get to go to my prom." 

"That's because you were five." Steve rubbed his temples; he was getting a headache.

"I was thirteen and the girl who asked me was hot."

"Yeah, hot and eighteen," Steve said; she'd only asked Tony because he was rich. 

"Whatever; it's still a major tragedy that Mom and Dad didn't let me go. Are you gonna take pity on me or not?" Tony gave him puppy dog eyes. 

Steve dropped his head to the table and sighed. "Fine, I'll take you to my prom."

"Awesome!" Tony pumped his fist, then stole Steve's fries. "We're gonna have so much fun." 

Steve groaned and covered his head with his arms.

***** 

Sarah was home when they got back from their shopping spree. She didn't say anything about the bags they brought in or the new jacket and shoes Steve wore. She sat quietly on the couch, staring down at her hands, looking so very sad. Steve couldn't help himself, he hugged her and she buried her face against his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered and for some reason he wanted to cry.

"I love you, too, Mom," he said, hugging her until Tony cleared his throat. "I'll be home for dinner."

Sarah nodded and offered up a tenuous smile. 

***** 

Howard had notes spread out on the bed when Steve walked into the room and it made him wonder why Howard bothered having a home office at all. He sat down next to Howard on the bed, quiet, unsure of what he wanted to say.

"How did the shopping go?" Howard asked, looking up from a complicated blueprint. 

"Did you tell Tony to take me shopping for clothes?"

"No," Howard said and Steve could tell he was lying.

"That was a really shitty position to put him in." Steve was suddenly angry. He clenched his hands into fists and fought to keep his breathing steady. 

"He could have said no, but he didn't because he loves. I love you. And if you think I'm going to stand by and let you go without the basics because of your pride or your mom's pride, then you both have another thing coming." Howard didn't say it angrily or meanly and it was his tone more than his words that made Steve's anger drain away.

"I hate being poor," Steve said, closing his eyes. "It sucks."

Howard put an arm around Steve's shoulders and pulled him close. 

Steve curled up against Howard's chest, his eyes burning with unshed tears. "I love you, too, you know. But don’t do that again. Don't do stuff behind my back." 

"Never again," Howard promised; Steve knew that, too, was a lie, but he didn't care.


End file.
